Dare To Love Series: Dare Me Again (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Cora Seton Page B

doctor. She’d love to think about children, but thinking about them meant thinking about men. And that meant thinking about commitment, something she wasn’t good at. Give her a project and she’d see it through to the end. Give her a cause to fight for and she’d champion it from start to finish.
    But ask her to commit to a man?
    Nope. That required trusting one. She’d learned five years ago not to do that when Sam Powell dumped her—right after she finished paying his way through medical school. She’d sacrificed her dream of a run at the Olympics as a first base player on the women’s softball team in order to help him become a surgeon. Broke and alone once he’d ditched her, Carolina had vowed never to make that mistake again. She also vowed she’d do what she could to stop other women from putting their own dreams last. She was a tireless fundraiser for girls’ and women’s athletics programs, and her blog, Go Long , espoused her ten Richmond Rules for Success . Since playing nice had gotten her nowhere, she’d decided to be audacious in her new career. She’d chosen the Thunder purposefully to illustrate her Rules each week. The audacity of using an all-male football team to teach women about success had guaranteed her notoriety overnight, and that notoriety fueled a following that had grown ever since. Now she was a respected presence at any professional sport activity.
    If only she could have a child without involving a man. She supposed she could look up sperm donor clinics, but she was nothing if not a control freak. The idea of picking a random man left her dissatisfied.
    Once dressed, she slung her purse over her shoulder, opened the door of the examining room, and headed toward the front desk to pick up her paperwork, lost in thought. She didn’t have to depend on a clinic; she could choose a man of her acquaintance and ask him to donate his sperm. Since she’d made a career out of convincing people to donate to her pet causes, she shouldn’t have a problem accomplishing that. All she needed was to choose the man. His genes had to be superior. She wanted someone smart, successful and healthy, with a great sense of humor. Someone she wouldn’t mind spending a night or two with.
    A wicked smile tugged up the corner of her mouth. She knew just the man.
    Connor Wright.
    The thought of sleeping with the sexy fullback made her weak in the knees. He’d been her fantasy-fodder since the day they met, even though she’d resisted his advances at every turn. The fact that he was as intelligent as he was hot had made it all the harder to keep her distance. It was a good thing Connor couldn’t read her mind. If he knew how many times she’d made love to him in her dreams he’d redouble his efforts to date her. If she chose him as the father for her child, she could get pregnant and quench her thirst for him all at once.
    After that it would be easy to walk away for good.

Richmond Rule #2
    Find a coach you trust to bring out the best in you.
    You’re fabulous as you are, but the right coach will help you discover your true potential. You might curse and gripe at them all the way, but they’ll be the first person you thank when you win the Super Bowl…
    “S HOW HER THE balance in your bank account. That ought to grab Carolina’s attention.” Connor’s older brother, Daley, shot him a devious grin.
    “I don’t think that will do it.” Connor leaned against the deck railing and took a sip of beer. Daley’s beachside house was everything his own modest bungalow wasn’t, but Connor didn’t envy him. Daley meant to stay in Florida, while Colorado was calling Connor’s name. He’d kept his spending modest throughout his career on purpose, but when he bought his ranch, he wouldn’t stint. “Carolina’s not interested in marriage.”
    “No shit. The two of you have been friends for five years and you’ve never dated. You’ve never even slipped up and had a one-night stand. Plus she’s